The Only Thing That Lasts
by Hurricano
Summary: The Atlanta survivors encounter a group from North Carolina while searching for Sophia.  Picks up during Cherokee Rose.  **Story has been revised
1. Chapter 1

AN: I decided to go back and revamp the story, it's the same general plot, just put together a little nicer.

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><p>The forest would never have been so still before. Apart from the crunching of his own boots, Daryl Dixon heard nothing; not the rustling of animals or the fluttering of birds, not even the dreaded shuffle of the undead and certainly not the cautious steps of a scared little girl. The sun was growing ever lower in the sky and he knew he would be forced to turn back if he didn't find Sophia soon. He crept through the woods stealthily, looking for any sign or any sound that may lead him to the missing child and finally, one came.<p>

"But Aunt Beau I don't want to eat squirrels, they're animals. Can't we just have chicken nuggets?" Dinah whined. Beau rolled her eyes and smiled.

"We don't have any chicken nuggets, Dee. And anyway chickens are animals too, so it looks like you'll be chowing down on that salad your mama is fixing." Beau replied. The little girl scrunched up her face. By "salad" she meant the bowl full of assorted plants and flowers which Lily had deemed edible. They were not particularly tasty, but if it was dahlia tubers or starvation, the group would just have to choke it down and thank their lucky stars they had food at all. Beau smiled at the girl and ruffled her hair. "Maybe Raif will bring back some duck, that's kind of like chicken. Now you go get that pot and some oil from the car, okay?"

"Okay!" She replied, eager to help. As she scurried away Beau began quickly skinning the squirrels. She had trapped and killed about half a dozen around camp and with Lily's flowers and whatever Raif brought back, they'd be feasting this night.

As the sun sank on the horizon, Beau figured it must be just after 6 o'clock, right around the time Raif was expected to return. She had heard neither screams nor the baying of the dogs, so she felt little worry for his safety. Beau finished up dressing the squirrels at the picnic table quickly; she had always been a fast skinner but in her present situation it was best to get the bloody job done and clean up before the scent attracted any unwelcome guests. She looked over her shoulder to check on Dinah, who was still excitedly looking for the precious little oil they had. She may not have liked squirrels but self respecting Southerner loves fried food. Beau brought the squirrels to the creek to rinse them along with her bloodied hands but a blood curdling scream caused her to drop them on the shore and whip out the silenced gun from her waistband.

"_Mommymommymommymommymommy!_" Dinah shrieked. There was a walker, a girl child a bit older than Dinah, the little girl of some long dead souls and maybe even an angel in life, quickly staggering towards her. Beau couldn't allow herself to feel remorse as she fired at the approaching devil hitting it in the head. Dinah bolted to her aunt, leaping into her arms and sobbing. This was the closest they had gotten to her since they left Raleigh.

"Baby? Baby where are you?" Lily cried frantically, running in from the surrounding woods, Raif and the dogs close on her tail. Beau passed the child to her mother who held her close and kissed her hair. "Were you bit, baby? You have to tell Mommy if you were."

"Don't worry , I shot it before it got too close." Beau told her as she clicked the safety and tucked her piece back into the front of her jeans.

"What happened?" Raif asked after he caught his breath. He had a goose and two ducks slung over his neck and the dogs at his feet were eyeing them hungrily.

"A walker, a little one. It came out of nowhere and started after Dinah so I shot it. I haven't seen or heard any signs of others. She probably died and reanimated here in the woods." Beau explained as calmly as she could. It was a front, but they couldn't all sit around shaking in fear. Someone had to be in control and for some reason it was her. She took the kills and brought them to the table to pluck. "Now how about you bury the body and I finish up cooking."

"Yeah, right." He replied, visibly shaken.

The squirrels had grown to gamey for human consumption after sitting on the creek bank, much to the delight of the three dogs on the camp, but the goose and ducks were still good and the bowl of greens Lily had collected seemed more tolerable than usual. Despite the run in earlier, it was shaping up to be a relatively pleasant evening, at least as pleasant as realistically possible. After dinner Dinah curled up against Saxon, a large bloodhound mix as her mother told her a story while Raif and Beau cleared the table and washed the utensils in the creek.

"You know, sometimes it's almost like camping out here," Raif said as he scrubbed the pot.

"Yeah, except for the fact that you can never go home and the walking dead are out to kill you." Beau replied. Raif ignored her. He was seventeen and still firmly believed he'd one day be able to return to Batesville and watch the fireworks over the lake on the Fourth of July. He finished his share of the cleaning in silence and headed back to camp. Beau sighed and quickly finished hers before lifting it all up in a towel and carrying it back as well. The snap of a twig made her spin around, weapon drawn, but there was no one behind her. She looked around cautiously but saw nothing. She tucked the gun back into her waistband and continued on her way to the fire pit. She didn't have time to cry out for help when a dirty hand was slapped over her mouth.

"Don't scream."

Beau bit down hard on the fingers restraining her and screamed as loud as she could. Within seconds Raif and Lily were there, locked and loaded and aiming at her attacker. The man backed up off her and Beau turned around to look him in the eye, pointing her piece at him as well. He was dirty and disheveled with a crossbow on his back and a scowl on his face.

"Who are you?" She demanded. For a man with three guns on him he didn't seem very frightened.

"Daryl Dixon. I'm lookin' fer a little girl went missin' around here about a week ago." He answered. "I ain't aimin' to hurt no one, I just want to bring her home to her ma."

Beau and Lily lowered their weapons but Raif kept his locked on the man.

"Well Daryl Dixon, you could have said that before scaring the living shit out of me." Beau said. "I'm Beau Ghislaine, that's Raif Curtis and Lily Logan, she's got a little girl of her own who is hiding in the car absolutely petrified right now."

"Like I said, I ain't aimin' to hurt anyone here," Daryl growled. His eyes were locked on the younger man. "So I'd appreciate it if you'd get that gun off me 'less you plan on firin' it."

Raif looked to Beau before lowering his piece. She nodded and he put it away in his holster.

"Where are your people , Atlanta? The CDC?" She asked.

"Hell no, Atlanta is infested and the CDC got blown to shit weeks ago," he told her. "There's a farm a few miles from here, we've been staying there."

Beau had known about Atlanta, thanks to Raif, but the CDC came as a surprise to her. They were supposed to head there next. A sudden feeling of dread washed over her. She looked to Lily and knew she was thinking the same thing.

"You said you're looking for a girl, what did she look like?"

"Blonde, about that tall, 11 years old. Her name's Sophia. You seen her?"

"I took out a walker earlier, a little girl. I couldn't tell what color her hair was with all the blood and muck in it. I'd need a picture of her to know for sure. We buried her over in the bushes."

Daryl looked down. He had been counting on bringing her home to Carol alive. He hadn't even allowed himself to consider the possibility of her being dead or worse. He wiped his face before speaking.

"Well her mama's got plenty of pictures of her. I can bring you to her."

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><p>Well here is the new and improved first chapter, tell me what ya'll think c:<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Andrea sat at Dale's usual perch, a rifle across her lap. It had been a while since there had been anything worth reporting but she was eager to do something other than her usual "woman's work," and this would likely be the only time she'd be allowed to use a gun outside of searching for Sophia. Also the tattered copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ she had found was the only decent book, possibly in the world at this point and she intended to enjoy it. She was about halfway through when she finally looked through her binoculars to scan the area and to her surprise, there was something: a large black SUV heading down the road towards the farm.

"There's a car coming!" She shouted. "Hey, there is a car coming!"

Her group rushed out to see all the commotion. An unfamiliar car could bring anything: more mouths to feed, an infected loved one, looters. The Atlanta survivors were waiting for them, casually armed with blunt objects. It was not until Daryl climbed out of the passenger side that they lowered their weapons. They eyed the newcomers warily as they clambered out after him.

"What's going on here, Daryl?" Rick asked.

"Found them when I was out lookin' fer Sophia," Daryl told him. Carol cast him a pleading glance. "They killed a walker earlier, a little girl."

They all knew what he meant, and their hearts dropped. There was a choked cry and Carol fell to her knees sobbing. Lori quickly attended to her, pulling her close. For a moment no one spoke.

"Was it- I mean do they know for sure-?" Dale asked, stepping forward. He, like the rest of the group looked desperately to Daryl for answers. Beau cleared her throat awkwardly, taking the spotlight off him.

"Daryl said there were pictures of the missing girl, I was hoping I could have a look at them," She said. "Maybe it was just a coincidence, another little girl or something."

Carol's body wracked with sobs but Lori somehow managed to get the location of Sophia's pictures out of her.

"They're in the RV, under the mattress in the back." She relayed. In an instant Daryl was in and out of the Winnebago and handing over the pictures. Beau looked them over carefully, and with a twang of fear. She had never had to face a zombie's family before and she hoped she would never have to. She examined each picture, her hair color, length, eye color, facial features searching desperately for a sure sign she hadn't killed this woman's little girl. It was a tense moment before she spoke.

"This isn't the girl."

There was a unanimous sigh of relief for this mixed blessing. With no solid evidence of her death, she could still be surviving out in the woods, but there was no guarantee she would be able to hold out until they found her. Carol still leaned against Lori for support, whimpering softly.

"What is all this?" Demanded a voice from the porch. It was Hershel, with his daughters close behind him. Beau could tell his greeting, if he gave any before running them off his land, would be far more hostile than the first. "Who are these people?"

"Daryl found them out in the woods." Rick told him. "They thought they might have seen our missing girl."

"I'd like to have a word with you, Rick." As the policeman went up the steps to meet him Beau's stomach turned anxiously. She knew the likelihood of everyone in her party surviving until the next day was far greater here than out on the lam. While the company wasn't great, the safety and self sufficiency more than made up for it. Rick and Hershel exchanged words on the porch. She could not hear exactly what was said but what she did sounded like an argument. It felt like an eternity before he addressed the newcomers. "It's too dark for y'all to leave tonight, but tomorrow I'm afraid you'll have to go."

With that, he turned back into his house and the other survivors wasted no time introducing themselves and flying into a flurry of questions. They hadn't heard from anyone outside of Georgia months and they were desperate for news. The strangers didn't have any new information but the fact that there were other people surviving was a bit uplifting. The predicament was rather overwhelming for Beau and her group, save for Dinah who glowed in the attention.

"How about you and your friends get settled in," Dale intervened, much to Beau's relief. "We have a camp fire most nights and you can meet the rest of our party."

"That'd be excellent," she said. Dinah tugged on her aunt's sleeve and whispered something into her ear. "We've got dogs in the car, they're big but sweet. Would it be alright with you if we let them loose for a bit?"

"It's no problem, long as they stay close." Rick said. "Now, Hershel has been kind enough to offer y'all showers inside if you want to wash up. The bathroom's on the second floor on the right."

Beau was certain the old man had 'offered' them no such thing but the thought of a hot shower after months with no running water was too great an opportunity to pass up, even if she was stuck showering last. She leaned against the open trunk of her car toying with her toiletries and a cigarette. Nearby Daryl was eying contents of the trunk.

He was surprised by how well put together Beau and her group were. Their camp was based around the large SUV with blacked out windows. In the back were three neatly labeled plastic storage containers. Apparently they had been the only one's thinking clearly at the start of the outbreak. Hell, he had only brought his truck, the crossbow and a few necessities. They had cooking equipment, warm clothing, a number of guns, some even with silencers, a tool kit, not to mention a whole drawer for first aid.

"What'd you do, raid a Sam's Club?" He asked.

"For most of the stuff, yeah," she replied. "Except for the guns, Raif had those when we met him. Me and Lily only had a glock between us when we left Raleigh."

"You got any more smokes?"

The porch door opened and Lily appeared with a freshly bathed Dinah in her arms. Beau dropped her cigarette and tossed a beat up pack of Parliaments to Daryl.

"Enjoy it because they're not gonna be around for long," she said. "Hold on to those, would you? Lily will kill me if she thinks I've been smoking."

She picked up her towel and headed up the steps and into the house leaving Daryl alone with the cigarettes and not a lighter for miles.

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><p>Beau excitedly climbed the stairs to the bathroom, eager to wash off several weeks' worth of filth. She couldn't help but notice a light on in the room nearest her. She crept over to take a look and found Rick settled next to the bed where a pale little boy laid with a sheriff's hat over his eyes.<p>

"Is that your son?" She asked, startling the man. "I don't mean to pry, but if he's sick I might be able to help. I was a nurse before all of this."

"He was shot," Rick told her quietly. "Hershel was able to get all the pieces out, but we're still not out of the woods."

"I've got antibiotics out in the SUV. Bandages too," she said. "If you need anything, just ask."

"I appreciate it."

Beau smiled at him before heading into the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

It was still dark when Beau awoke to Lily's gentle shaking and immediately grabbed her gun. For a moment she had forgotten where she was and assumed the worst. Lily put a finger to her lips and beckoned for her friend to follow her. Beau did a quick scan of the area out of the sun roof, just to be safe, before giving Lily the okay to climb out. Raif and Dinah still slept peacefully, the former out cold in the passenger side seat and the latter curled up in the warm patch left by her mother.

"I was thinking maybe we could help out," Lily said. "These folks are heading out to look for that little girl and I figure the least we could do is send them out with a good breakfast."

"We've barely got enough for ourselves, Lil," Beau reminded her. "We don't have enough to feed another dozen people."

"We could scramble eggs and look for some sweet potatoes. And we've got more grits than we could eat if we never found another box."

Beau couldn't argue with that. The grits they had taken with them months earlier were still far from depleted and boxes were strewn about the car. She selected her gun from the trunk and tucked it into her waistband. Lily handed her a wicker basket and the two took off for the surrounding woods. It wasn't long before Lily found and yanked up a good haul of sweet potatoes for Beau to rinse in the stream. As she washed the dirt from them Lily walked along the side of the water.

"Keep close," Beau said warningly. "We got what we needed out here. We just have to pick up some eggs from the coop on the way back."

"The farmer barely allowed us to sleep on his property, do you really think he'll appreciate us taking his eggs?" Lily asked. She bent down and lifted up several off-white eggs. "Especially when there's more protein in duck eggs."

She gathered the eggs from several nests, gathering so many she had to carry some in her shirt before they headed back to camp. They were pleased to see no one else was awake yet and went straight to cooking. Lily chopped the sweet potatoes and talked Beau into sparing some oil for home fries. By the time people began crawling out of their tents a buffet had been set up.

"What's all this?" Carol asked, yawning widely.

"Breakfast." Beau replied as she dug out an old coffee maker out of the back of the truck. "We figured if y'all are going to be out looking for that girl you should at least have a proper breakfast."

The rest of the camp clambered out sleepily towards the picnic table where the small feast had been laid and began filling plates and thanking the cooks. Daryl stretched out of his tent and made his way over to the fire where Beau was attempting to make a pot of coffee.

"Mornin'," he grunted as he handed over the pack of cigarettes. "Had to give one to T-Dog for a light."

"It's cool, I should have left you matches or something, sorry about that," she said. "Thanks for holding them."

"Thanks for makin' breakfast, it's better than the shit Dale usually cooks up." Across the camp Dale peered over at the two as if he had heard his name over the early morning rumblings of his campmates. Beau laughed and waved to him. Daryl had a slight smirk on his face.

"You should finish eating if you want to head out soon," she said. His smile fell but did not return to his usual scowl as he wolfed down the rest of his meal.

It wasn't long before the Greene clan was drawn out by the noise and smell. Lily eagerly beckoned them over. The younger members grinned widely and hurried to get their share, but Hershel was less inclined.

"You made breakfast," He pointed out flatly.

"You should have some, Dad," Maggie said, countering his exasperated look. "It's really good."

Hershel reluctantly filled his plate and sat next to Beth at one of the few formal seats that had been set up. The rest of the group stood or sat on the ground. Beau felt this would be a convenient time to plead her case to the old man.

"Coffee?" She offered as sweetly as she could. "It's not great, but it's hot."

He declined, but his daughters and the Atlanta survivors quickly downed the pot.

"If it would help y'all could take the dogs with you when you go out searching today," she said. Hershel looked as though he might interject but she cut him off. "I know you said we'd have to leave today, but I was hoping that you'd reconsider if we pulled our own weight."

"I'm sorry, but-"

"The dogs are trackers, Saxon's even got some bloodhound in him," Beau pushed. "And I'm a nurse, I can help out with Rick's boy, or the little girl when she's found. We've got plenty of medical supplies. Raif can help hunt and Lily is probably the only person left who can properly identify edible plants. We're not asking to stay forever, just for now."

Beau and her group looked to Hershel hopefully. Maggie nudged her father. He finally sighed.

"You can stay here for now," he relented. Beau grinned widely at Lily and Raif. "But you will be expected to earn your keep. You can make camp with Rick and his group for now, but I must remind you that this is temporary."

"We appreciate it," Lily said excitedly.

"My farm, my rules," he recited. "I expect y'all to respect that if you want to stay here."

"You have my word," Beau told him. Hershel clearly did not value her word but halfheartedly resumed eating. When he finished, he left without a word.

The breakfast feast was soon over and the search parties began to disperse. Andrea, Jimmy and T-Dog left with the bloodhound and blue rags to identify their search, followed by Rick and Shane with the splotchy cur Raif adored. The boy watched sulkily as they left.

"Ya'll be careful out there with Rex," he said to them before turning to Beau. "If my Catahoula ends up dinner for some piece of shit walker there's gonna be hell to pay."

"Be nice," Beau told him. "I'm sure they'll all come back safe and sound."

He scowled and headed back to the SUV, slamming the door behind him.

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><p>Carol approached Lily after the meal, laundry basket on her hip. The younger woman was scraping plates into the compost with Dinah, who was happily sloshing in a puddle. The sight of mother and daughter made her chest tight but she continued on.<p>

"That was real nice what you did," she said. "Cooking for all us like that."

"It was no problem," Lily replied. "It's the least we can do to thank ya'll for your hospitality.

"I know I speak for everyone when I say we really appreciated it," Carol said, adjusting the basket. "I wanted to tell you today's laundry day. Lori and I usually do it and I wanted see if you had anything that needed washing."

"It's fine, I would hate to be a burden."

"It's no burden," Carol told her sincerely. "It helps to have something to take my mind off of… everything."

"I'm sorry about your daughter," Lily said. "I'm sure they'll find her."

"Thank you," Carol said softly. She put on a brave face and continued. "I know you made breakfast this morning but I was hoping that you and your friends might help us cook dinner tonight. I think it'd be a nice way to thank the Greene's and get to know each other better."

"I think that's a lovely idea," Lily told her with a smile. "Raif has been going on about Georgia hogs since we met him. I'll see if he's up to hunting without his dogs for once."

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><p>Daryl made his way over to the stables, the shaggy dog he had taken to at his heels. He had always gotten on better with animals than people, but this mutt was particularly agreeable. He made a mental note to ask one of newcomers what its name was.<p>

"Hey," a voice said as he entered the stable. Beau was leaning against the box stall of a black and white mare. She reached into her pocket and tossed him a red lighter.

"What's this for?" Daryl asked after briefly inspecting it.

"I figure you might need a lighter at some point. If not for cigarettes than at least for fires or something," she told him. "I stocked up long before all this shit started."

The hunter muttered his gratitude before picking out a saddle. Etched into the leather was a name: Nellie. The brown horse several stalls over had the same name carved into a wooden nameplate on the bottom half of the Dutch door. Beau knelt down to pet the dog while he saddled his horse.

"You didn't pick the bloodhound," she noted.

"Andrea and T-Dog need him more than me," he said. "Besides, I like this one better. What's his name?"

"_Her_ name is Duchess," she replied. "And she's much cuter when she's had a haircut."

"I don't need a cute dog, just a good one," he ruffled the curly mop atop the dog's head before mounting his horse. "I'll be back with her before sunset."

"Be careful, I'll be pissed if you come back without her." Daryl rolled his eyes and trotted out of the stables. Beau couldn't help but admire him as he passed. Not that she would ever admit it, she resented the sleeves covering up his well toned arms. She was relieved he didn't mention anything, but from behind she couldn't see the smirk on his face.

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><p>Chapter 4 is well under way, sorry about the wicked long break!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Here is chapter 4, sorry about the wicked long break

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><p>Unhappy as he was about the situation Hershel was relieved to have time to tend his crops, which had begun to falter in Otis's absence and his focus being on caring for Carl. Beau was given a brief tour of the medical supply closet before being left to tend to the unconscious child alone. She set to work at once, cleaning his stitches and bandaging his wound with fresh linen. He slipped in and out of consciousness and had to be reminded of her name, but apart from that he slept in relative peace. She quickly realized her job was going to consist almost entirely of sitting around and making sure nothing went wrong. Hershel had mentioned his history of seizures so she kept a close eye on him while keeping Dinah out from under everyone's feet.<p>

"Is he dead?" The little girl asked leaning over the boy's face.

"No, he's sleeping," Beau told her, pulling her back a bit. "And he needs to rest, so we need to whisper and not get all up in his space."

"How come he's sleeping if it's day time?"

"'Cause he's sick. He needs to rest now so he'll be strong enough to move around soon."

"What made him sick? Is it chicken pox?" Beau was never so relieved as she was when Lori came knocking at the door. She had no idea how Lily put up with the badgering of a six year old _and_ the end of the world without so much as raising her voice.

"Hey," Lori said, stepping inside. "How has he been?"

"Fine," Beau told her. She noticed Dinah climbing onto the bed again and pulled her back into her lap. The little girl pouted and crossed her arms. "He's healing nicely and has been sleeping for the most part. I reckon he'll be up and walking in a few days. Dinah could not be more fascinated by him."

"Is that so?" Lori asked with a smile. She sat down on the bed and gently petted her son's head. "Well I'm sure he'll be glad to have another kid around."

"Really?" Dinah asked excitedly. She wiggled out of her aunt's grip and leaned against the side of the bed. "I used to play with Aiden and Emma but then we left Uncle Kip's house."

The smiles fell from both of the women's faces. Dinah was fortunate enough to not yet fully understand why her friends stopped calling and her uncle stayed behind while she and her mother fled, but for Lori and Beau, the pain of losing loved ones and abandoning their former lives was still difficult to bear.

"Baby, why don't you go see if your mama has something for you to help with?" Beau suggested. The little girl whined softly but a quick glare from her aunt had her dragging her feet out the door. Lori waited until she was sure Dinah was out of earshot before she spoke.

"Was Kip your husband?" Lori asked quietly. "And the kids?"

"He was Lily's brother," Beau told her. "We went out a few times about a year ago but when everything started happening he offered me a place to stay. Aiden and Emma were his neighbors' kids. When the swarm hit Raleigh their mother was bitten and their father punched his own ticket. Their cousins took them when we left. They wer- _are_ sweet kids."

"We were traveling with another family for a while. They had kids too, just the right ages for Carl and Sophia to play with. They decided to try their luck in Birmingham and we went to the CDC." Her voice was a little choked. She took a moment to collect herself before continuing. "I'm going to ask you something and I need you to swear to me that you won't tell anyone."

"What's wrong?" The younger woman asked warily.

"You're a 'people nurse,' right?" Beau raised an eyebrow but nodded. Lori gave a sigh of relief. "I- I'm pregnant and I know there are probably no doctors, let alone obstetricians left but I need some kind of medical assistance. I wanted to know if you would give me a checkup."

Beau was taken aback. Pregnancy wasn't a cake walk even in the best of times. She had so many questions but Lori hushed all of them with a finger to her lips and a motion to her sleeping son.

"How long have you known?" Beau hissed. "How far along are you?"

"I don't know how far along I am, I've only found out for sure a few days ago," Lori whispered back. "Will you do it or not?"

"I haven't got any tools relevant to your… condition but I'll do the best I can. How about tomorrow morning, when everyone is out looking for that little girl."

"Thank you," she said softly. "I can look after Carl for now. You've been up here all day."

"Get some extra sleep tonight and tomorrow when you wake up meet me by the SUV. I'll see what I can do for you."

With that she went down the steps to join the rest of the household who were still cooking up a banquet for the night. Lori looked down at her still flat belly. She was sick of sneaking around, first with Shane now with the baby. All she could do was hope that something would go wrong and she would miscarry. She was disgusted with herself for wishing it but if giving birth with no assistance didn't kill her, a crying baby could be the death of all of them. Carl stirred in his slumber tearing his mother from her reverie for a moment but her visions of destruction were not far from her mind.


End file.
